Lead researcher Dr Christopher Nellaker, from the Medical Research Council's Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford University, said: "A doctor should in future, anywhere in the world, be able to take a smartphone picture of a patient and run the computer analysis to quickly find out which genetic disorder the person might have.

" This objective approach could help narrow the possible diagnoses, make comparisons easier and allow doctors to come to a conclusion with more certainty."

Dr Nellaker, whose research is reported in the journal eLife, added: "A diagnosis of a rare genetic disorder can be a very important step. It can provide parents with some certainty and help with genetic counselling on risks for other children or how likely a condition is to be passed on.

"A diagnosis can also improve estimates of how the disease might progress, or show which symptoms are caused by the genetic disorder and which are caused by other clinical issues that can be treated."

Comments (1)

This could be a godsend for families and the diagnosis of genetic conditions. My daughter was diagnosed with a condition only for the geneticist to say that she had a totally different (and much rarer) condition.

This could be a godsend for families and the diagnosis of genetic conditions. My daughter was diagnosed with a condition only for the geneticist to say that she had a totally different (and much rarer) condition.Azphreal

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